The History of the Popes, Their Church and State, and Especially of Their Conflicts With Protestantism in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries, Vol. 2 of 3 (Classic Reprint) - Tapa blanda

Excerpt from The History of the Popes, Their Church and State, and Especially of Their Conflicts With Protestantism in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries, Vol. 2 of 3

Vol. 11. Comedy of Errors. Much Ado about Nothing. Love's Labour Lost. Midsummer Night's Dream. Merchant of Venice.

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This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Excerpt from The History of the Popes, Vol. 2 of 3: Their Church and State, and Especially of Their Conflicts With Protestantism in the Sixteenth Seventeenth Centuries

From the confessional they gained opportunity for surprising the secret struggles of the soul with itself, and for giving the decisive bias to all the doubtful questions arising in private life. It may perhaps be affirmed that the eager violence with which they opposed each other, the fact that each of the two great divisions found its antagonist in its own body, was precisely the cause of that comprehensive and pervading influence.

And if this might be said of both parties, it was more particularly true of the Catholics. Among them the ideas and institutions, by which the minds of men are more immediately and effectually disciplined and guided, were arranged with the most perfect adaptation to the end proposed; no man could now exist without a father confessor. Among Catholics, moreover, the clergy, either as associates of some order, or in any case as members of the general hierarchy, constituted a corporation, combined in the strictest subordination, and acting in the most perfect unity of spirit. The head of this hierarchical body, the pope of Rome, again acquired an influence but little inferior to that which he had possessed in the eleventh and twelfth centuries; by means of the enterprises which he was continually undertaking for the furtherance of his religious purposes, the Roman pontiff kept the world in perpetual movement.

Under these circumstances the boldest pretensions of the days of Hildebrand were revived, - axioms that had hitherto been preserved in the arsenals of the canon law, rather as antiquities than for use, were now brought forth into full effect and activity.

Our European commonwealth has, however, at no time been subjected to the dominion of pure force; at all periods it has been imbued by the effect of thought and opinion: no enterprise of importance can succeed, no power can rise into universal influence, without immediately suggesting to the minds of men the ideal of a forthcoming advancement of society.

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com

This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.